Jeremiah 31:16-20 - I have great compassion for him

31:16,17

The situation looked desperate and hopeless, hence the weeping in 31:15, but God tells them to “restrain their weeping”. The work would be rewarded. We all need to remember this. Our work for the Lord is never in vain. People will be brought back from the “land of the enemy”. We can maybe apply this to the work of evangelism.There are many times when it can see a rather fruitless task, or at least one of limited fruitfulness. We should not give up. Our reward is in the Lord’s hands. “Your children will return to their own land”.

31:18-20

These verses express how salvation works. We are disciplined by the Lord. Judah was disciplined by the Lord. The first step is to accept the discipline, to accept that we have sinned against God. Then we need to repent, to turn to the Lord, to accept that our previous way of living was not good or right. This goes together with the heart of God, who longs to forgive and to restore. God will have compassion on those who turn to Him in repentance.